I was writing on paper and thought about how much we need to write in our lives anymore. Think about it. You may sign a check or a form at a doctor’s office, but how much do we write anymore? Most people today use a screen for communicating, even online journaling (which I think is impersonal, but it’s available if you want to do that.)

The art of cursive writing has been removed from elementary schools. Why? It’s such a beautiful art, with each of us having a unique signature and penmanship. Writing on paper for lists or schoolwork can be done on your phone.

So, writing on paper is slowly being eradicated, other than checks. I think it will be for a long time until the powers that be figure out an alternate way to transfer cash. I think it’ll be some sort of screen at checkout that looks like a blank check, and you use a stylist to fill in the information or use a keyboard, thereby eliminating a paper check.

I wonder, though, if kids aren’t taught cursive writing, how will they know how to write their name for a signature? We will always have to sign something in our lifetimes, so we need that ability. It’s a mystery how people will sign their names if we aren’t taught how to.

I wasn’t a fan of my cursive writing and did a sort of hybrid, part cursive, part print handwriting. Getting into decorative paper planning years ago exposed me to other planners with (what I thought was) perfect cursive and print writing. I felt so bad about my handwriting and mentally beat myself up for not being able to grasp calligraphy writing. It wasn’t healthy, and I had to stop watching YouTube “plan with me” videos and comparing my abilities to the influencers (some getting paid by the company whose product they use.)

Then I re-discovered a blank journal I had bought years ago at Target. I began writing in it with a Pentel Energel 0.7 Liquid Gel Ink pen. For the first time since junior high, when my handwriting was nice and written with care, I was amazed at how the pen glided over the paper and how easily I wrote neatly, even doing it a little quicker. (I’m not endorsing any products, just sharing what I used and mentioning them for their quality and price. There is no name on the journal. I looked. There was a cardboard label on it, but it’s gone.) Writing on paper feels like you’re sharing parts of your essence on paper through your handwriting.

I don’t want to see this art form go away.

I will always use paper and pen for things like journal writing or keeping a notebook for notes. I love the ease of typing on a keyboard and printing a clean copy of it, but there’s nothing like feeling that paper beneath your palm and creating your art on it.

Thank you for reading this. I appreciate it!

To picking up that pen or pencil and using it,

Francesca